Bac Giang province to host “Culture and Tourism Week 2019” in February

Bac Giang province’s Culture and Tourism Week 2019 themed "Explore the sacred land of West Yen Tu" will be organized from February 14-20, announced the provincial People’s Committee at a press conference in Hanoi on January 23.
The West Yen Tu holy land
The West Yen Tu holy land
A range of activities will be held throughout the province, such as ritual ceremonies; exhibition featuring the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect and West Yen Tu holy land; seminar on developing the West Yen Tu ‘s tourist products; introduction of tours exploring local fruits and orchid gardens in Luc Ngan district;  climbing marathon in Non Vua mountain; the inauguration of Thuong pagoda and the first phase of Yen Tu Relic and Landscape Complex.
Bac Giang province is home of hundreds of architectural sites dating back to the Tran Dynasty and more than 2,000 historical and cultural relic sites, especially sacred pagodas such as Vinh Nghiem, Am Vai, Binh Long, Yen Ma, Son Thap.
Vinh Nghiem Pagoda was recognized as a special national relic in 2015. Its woodblocks have been recognized by UNESCO as World Documentary Heritage items as part of the Memory of the World Program. It is the place of the origin of Truc Lam Yen Tu Buddhist Zen Sect.
The West Yen Tu holy land has associated with the establishment and development of Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect.
Truc Lam Yen Tu Buddhist Zen Sect was founded by King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308). Tran Nhan Tong was the third king of the Tran Dynasty to practice and propagate Buddhism. He founded the Truc Lam School of Zen 700 years ago. After defeating Mongol invaders, the king abdicated his throne at the age of 35 and spent the rest of his life on the 1,068m-high Yen Tu Mountain. During that time, the King-Monk worked to unify different sects of Vietnamese Buddhism into Vietnamese Zen Buddhism.

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